


SNOW (cursed rose story)

by DSDUKE



Series: Christmas to new year gifts 2020 [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Gift Fic, Minimalism, Puzzles, Romance, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28333314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DSDUKE/pseuds/DSDUKE
Summary: It was a long journey, but he made it. Wiping off the sweat that glitter on his forehead looked towards his objective.
Series: Christmas to new year gifts 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074920





	SNOW (cursed rose story)

**Author's Note:**

> Made this as a gift for a friend

Snow

It was a long journey, but he made it. Wiping off the sweat that glitter on his forehead looked towards his objective. 

The marble castle with an eternal moonlit night.

It was a beautiful place, a glowing palace of majesty with its spotlight. He wished he could sit at the fountain with dolphin statues, but he was here for a reason. One very close to his heart.

He couldn't let another wonder distract him. 

He made his way to the entrance, pushing his way in with only slight resistance from the pale door. Inside her was greeted with a dark room illuminated by the natural blue of the moonlit night. Still enough for him to acknowledge her was in a hall of sorts. 

He walked forward, taking in the visage of the hanging paintings. Most of them, people he believed were past masters and mistresses of the castle. He stopped at the final one, the most recent lady of this place, and felt his cheeks reddened, a shade that rivaled his hair, face markings, and eyes.

Her icy blue hair with matching monolid eyes, caramel skin, and soft cupid bow lips. A slender and curvy build in a cleavage displaying, winter blue gown with a snowflake design print. He caught himself staring before shaking his head...He had a goal to accomplish; no need to get lost in a picture. Turning, he walked further into the palace, unaware of the eyes watching his every move.

He entered the next room, a towering stairwell with a globe in the center and entrance to the second floor, but no stairs to climb. With a sigh, he looked around the room, trying to see if there was something he missed. Kissing his teeth as he couldn't see anything besides windows and marble, the globe, and the two doors on opposite sides of the room, the one he came from and the one hovering in front of him, seemingly taunting him—frustration set in when he heard it loud and clear. 

" _Yip!"_

He whirled around to the source of the sound, looking behind him.

" _Prrr_!"

Feeling something rub his calves as it passed, he tilted his head downward, his eyes catching the tail of a deep brown and blue fox. He watched as the fox hopped on the globe and crouched in front of him, wrapping its tail over its legs with its eyes closed.

He gingerly smirked as he scratched under the fox's chin with care; he found it enchanting and elegant. He gasped when it opened its eyes, a bit mystified. They were white and shone brilliantly in the natural light. 

He couldn't help but be reminded of snow. The thing he came for, his objective.

Still, the fact remained. He had no idea how to proceed. He gave his new cohort a questioning look, asking if it had known the way; it was a jest. This is why he was surprised when the fox bounded off the globe before prancing up to the second-floor entrance as if there was a staircase right ahead of him. He reached and stepped forward, unsure of what he saw was real. 

He felt nothing at all.

Crossing his arms, he turned around and laid a hand in the orb as he faced the balcony.

Then quickly removed it in wide-eyed astonishment. He narrowed his red eyes into an investigative stare, pressing on the smooth blue orb again. He was relieved; he wasn't going insane.

There was indeed a dreadful white staircase split into sections, with each of its stairs sliding from the eastern wall to the western wall. Each step, going in the opposite direction of the one before it. 

He figured that he must have to line the stairs to continue, but they moved like the wind, almost impossible to catch. He released his hold on the orb at a certain point; a few steps were lined up the first, third, fifth, and seventh out of the ten, turning invisible. Despite that, when he stepped forward, his foot met the floor.

Angry, he placed his hand back on the orb, revealing that the steps returned to the previous formation before they began moving again, concluding that he had to get them entirely in one shot. Annoying, but for his goal, he'll solve a few puzzles. His determination will not falter.

His determination did not falter, but after ten near misses, his patience took a beating. Red-eye irritation fueled by stubbornness had him missing more and more.

" _A cool mind_ _is needed; temper your impatience."_

He looked around where the voice was coming from; it's feminine, wise, and sensual tone at a comfortably cool pitch. It eased his heart and relaxed his tension. He looked toward the fox at the top, meeting its eyes that appeared almost encouraging.

" _A mind as cool as ice."_ The voice advised again. 

He breathed, deeply as placing his hand in the orb again, and through narrowed eyes, he watched closely as the steps swiped back and forth in front of him, passing with calm winds and a gentle _-SWOOSH!-._

He enjoyed the wind as they passed; it reminded him of the old winter days breeze; losing himself in the memory, he slipped his hand off the orb, hearing a near-silent lock click and feeling cold in front of him, opening his eyes to the sight of fully formed stairs of ice heading to the second floor. Where the fox was nowhere to be found, and the marble door was ajar.

With a smile of uncertainty, he took a step and almost shivered at the sensation. He chuckled as he ran up to where the fox went, prying the rest of the marble door open to a football field length corridor, the light of the night shining through its many small windows—giving the floor a chessboard look of moon blue and shadow black. At the far end, he spotted his companion 'smiling' at him in front of the food. On each side of the door stood a statue of the last owner of the castle. Sitting in the lotus position with their hands, creating a circle at their naval.

He figured it was another puzzle; he couldn't figure out what it was yet. Taking a cautious step onto one of the illuminated sections, and sighed in relief when nothing happened.

That was into the 'windows' close leaving him in darkness except for the spot he was in and another a few feet away. He took a step into the night toward the next area.

" ** _SHHHHKKKRRREEH_**!!!" 

His eyes wide in shock as the statue horrifically screamed as they charged towards him, hands shaped like claws as their marble eyes glowed an eerie blue. 

Survival instinct at the lead, he leaped back, dodging a marble claw that was directed at his skull—landing into his last spot. He watched with shock and now knowledge, as the statues flipped back to their previous positions. Now he knew.

Safe in the light, dead in the dark; a simple concept. 

He measured the distance, bending his knees a few times, all preparing for his first move. Hopping a few times in place, he stooped low before launching himself towards the next glimmering speck, just making it. He chuckled…

Then, his spot darkened as the spot directly across from him was illuminated, and the guardians were already on the attack. 

He quickly leaped for the light just a moment away from being skewed as he made it, and like before; the statues went into a reset. He was starting to worry if he'd be able to survive this puzzle. He..was afraid to move forward. So many scenarios began running through his mind. The closer he got, the shorter distance it would be for the guardians, and he didn't know when the lights would change or what pattern they would use. It made planning more difficult than he'd like.

" _Be like the water; your prize comes from_."

He looks to see the fox staring at him, the calm voice from before in his ear. 

" _Do not make a plan, be like the formless water and move as such, effortlessly towards your goal."_

He didn't get precisely what the voice was saying, but he figured the gist was not to overthink and move with a clear mind. With that in mind, he took a chance…

And ran forward, ignoring the bright spots.

Paying no mind to the screaming sculptures as they pounced to attack.

He dived, tucked, and rolled past the defenders, quickly standing to his feet and heading to the doors in a full sprint, trying to ignore the chill of death on his back as he felt one of their claws grace his nape from a near decapitation. Lunging forward, he slammed into the doors hard before sitting down near the fox before shopping the creature in his arms and hurrying through the door and closing it behind them, hearing a loud - _THUD!-_ from the other side.

With a sigh, he looked at the fox, giving it a smile and small nuzzle after checking if it was safe, laughing as he earned a couple of licks as gratitude. He sat up, placing the fox on his shoulder as he continued his journey. Feeling a cold wind guide him through the estate. From empty halls and upstairs, he followed, and as he did, the chill increased. He looked at the courtyard through one of the open corridors, taken in how the white reminded him of snow.

He hasn't seen snow since he was a wee lad. His people, his hot-blooded people, haven't had a snowfall, flurry, or blizzard for more than a decade now. Losing the right to experience its majesty as dubbed by one of the previous owners of this very castle as punishment for Insulting it and the past lord, an ice deity. Offering a challenge to anyone any of his people who can prove themselves worthy,

It's why he was there, to prove that he and his people love for the snow and their worthiness to it, that what he told the fox as they proceeded.

The temperature dropped even more, and the wind began to pick up force as ice made its appearance upon the walls and floors of the manor, making climbing stairs more treacherous as well. His bone trembled, and his lips gained an icy blue coat, but he continued his path. Fully intent on seeing this through to the end. He soon found himself face to face with a large door, shaking from whatever is behind it, chilled to the touch, burning him as she grabbed the steel handle and pulled.

The door only moved a bit before both he and the fox were thrown back by the blizzard that greeted them. Wind, hail, ice all collided with the two harshly beating on his body and threatening to pin him to the wall. He grunted as he held the fox protectively against his green tunic, putting up his red hood over his head as he began to slowly make his way forward, sticking low to remain as sturdy as possible. It was like climbing a horizontal mountain as he clawed and stepped his way forward, tumbling back a few times. Feeling doubt crept in his heart, the uselessness of this endeavor lurking In his mind as the feel of frostbite pinched and pierce at his skin, fatigue threatening to set in as his lungs suddenly felt heavy.

He should rest his eyes. 

just for a bit.

" _NO!"_

His eyes shot open as he found himself to the ea again, and the voice from before screaming in his skull. 

_"To stop now is to accept the cool bitter hand of death. You must proceed! Be unshakable, unyielding, be the ice of your precious snow!"_

It was hard—the blizzard's assault on his body, the horrid thought of failing right at the finish line, the idea of dying right there and now was challenging..hard to ignore. He could be free… But deep down, in the depth of his soul, he knew that his need to bring back snow was harder to resist. Harder to dismiss. 

Forcing himself back to the floor, he began his 'climb' again. A cold determination in his eyes and a fire in his heart. It took a while...Forty minutes of constant tumbling, pausing, and climbing just to enter the room, bringing him face to face with the edge of the winter storm epicenter. 

Around the room, he saw the results of those who did give In, frozen in eternal peace.

He shook his head and continued, breaking through and finding a strange calm within the center as he slowly climbed to his feet.

Unlike the chaos, it was spewing; the eye was much calmer and peaceful. Hardly any sound existed within the pillars of blue and white winter that now surrounded him. It was as if he and his foxy companion were the only things that exist. 

Them and the storm's cause, a crystal snow globe that reflected the natural light it was bathed in from the ceiling opening.

He looked at it with curiosity before gripping the top of it, and his vision fading into black.

When he came to, he was laid on his back, feeling something cool, soft, and wet under him as well as falling upon him. Opening his red eyes, his mouth widened in shock as flakes of white fell from the sky; it was snow. 

Actual god-given snow. 

He grinned as he picked up a hand full of it and tossing it up, laughing as it hit his face with a _-Splat!-_

Shaking his head, the redhead sat up to look around, discovering he was in... the castle courtyard?

That didn't sit right with him, causing him to think back to the last thing he remembered. It took a few moments, but him touching the snow globe does hit his recollection. Looking up, he saw the night sky with a glass sheen, telling him that he was in the snow globe.

He climbed to his feet (and sunk into the waist-deep snow immediately after), fretting over the fact—questions of his well-being and situation, running through his mind. He can't enjoy the snow... Not now, how could he?

_-Splat!-._

_-Kooff!-_

He fell face-first into the snow after getting hit with a snowball from the back of his head. He stood up, quickly shaking the snow off and glaring behind him. 

His eyes looked towards the pine tree and three-layer pillar fountain in the center of a cobblestone circle. There he found the only other figure on his castle tour, the fox.

He watched as the fox hid in the snow; the only evidence of it being there was the trail it was making as it clawed its way to him. He smirked as it seemed to go past him and loop around him, stopping a few inches away.

Curiously, he glanced down a little concern over his foxy guide's well-being.

_-Pump!-_

The snow exploded in front of him, catching him off guard as he closed his eyes. He shook his head and was ready to see the works when something shocking stopped him. 

Something cool, soft, and comforting; graced his lips and held his hands, reminding him of his beloved snow of old and of now as he felt his heart warmed.

_-Chu!-_

He opened his eyes—hair and eyes of red meeting those of ice blue. Lighty tan, green gloved hands were holding those of icy, glossed over chestwood. Glowing red cheeks caused by a charming fox-like smile. 

His eyes widened when his mind made the connections. The young mistress of the castle, the fox, the voice, the newest deity of ice..of snow...All the same.

He was too shocked to resist when she led him out of the snow by simply waving her hand and creating a path to the cobblestone center. He was surprised again when she slightly bowed and offered her hand to him. 

He blinked a few times before his mind caught up with the situation, and he retook her hand. Her humanly warm hand. Yelping a bit when she pulled him in, pressing himself against her before placing his palm on the curve of her back as hers graced his left shoulder blade, and she began to dance.

He followed the deity's simple waltz around the fountain, twirling gently as they moved, her eyes full of favor towards him, making him feel a bit exposed but safe and excited like the days of old when snow days rolled by. 

Maybe that's why he started to chuckle along with her and pulled her in closer, wrapping his arms around her, feeling the need to keep her with him. She represented the Ice and the water, the chill and the softness, the calm and the chaos, and the brutal and the beauty. She was winter.

She was snow.

He pulled his head away for a moment to gaze in awe at her. She was a beauty just like the first snow, untainted, shining, mesmerizing. He didn't fight when she clasped his cheeks and took his lips upon her, giving in to the deity's favor.

When he started to feel unnatural drowsiness hit him as they broke, allowing her to guide his head into her lap as she kneeled near the fountain. He couldn't fight the heaviness of his eyes as he looked at her endearing grin, basking in the feel of her lips upon his forehead.

Before losing consciousness completely, he could have sworn her hair and eyes turned the color night; her skin became a deeper brown and her lips a more human brown, still as beautiful though.

" _We'll meet again."_ Was the last words heard before all went to black.

He opened his eyes to his room, the feel of his bed cloth over him and heat from the furnace over him. He didn't know what happened or how he got here, but the fact stood. Sitting up, he wiped his eyes, ready to meet the day, when he heard it.

" Oh my."

"We've been forgiven!"

"After so long!"

"They brought back the Snow!"

His eyes widen as he hopped out of bed and gazed out the window. Gasping as he felt his eyes moistened at the sight of the first snow in a long time fell upon his hometown. Seeing his townspeople jump for joy as they dived into the icy powder, began snowball fights, and the making of snowmen urged him to join. He quickly put on his tunic, gloves, hoodie, pants, and boots before running out to participate in the festivities. He ran into the street, laughing as he welcomed the snow with open arms.

_-Splat!-._

_-Kooff!-_

Only to found himself flat on his back as a snowball rocketed into his face and knocked him off his feet.

"Oh, no!" He heard a voice coming up..a female voice. 

"Are you ok?"

He wiped his face clean as he heard the voice's familiar pitch and tone above him and soon was face to face with a braided raven-haired, monolid raven-eyed girl, with mahogany skin, holding a white fox in her arms. 

Her smile, gentle and tender, fox-like, and familiar, pulled at both his heart and mind.


End file.
